Warwickshire County Cricket Club Batting Coach, Matthew Walker, heaped praised on the Bears’ batting depth following their Rothesay County Championship draw against Glamorgan.
After Glamorgan had posted 360 all out in their first innings, Warwickshire, batting in the toughest of the conditions, were reduced to 141 for seven in reply, before Jordan Thompson and Ethan Bamber countered for the hosts.
Thompson struck 57 in 61 balls, while Bamber’s 42 came off 48 balls, with the duo putting on 79 for the eighth wicket, taking the Bears past the follow-on and to an extra batting point.
Walker says it’s been a common theme through the Bears’ Rothesay County Championship season to date, with members of the squad stepping up at vital times with both bat and ball
“You can’t achieve what you want to achieve if it’s a couple of players carrying the load,” he said.
“I think we’ve shown now over all our games, that contributions can come from everywhere, and that’s really important.
“It’s good that it’s coming from all places. That needs to continue and at the moment, the boys are tracking well.
“We’ve shown that even when we’re not quite at it, we’re able to respond well and respond quickly. I think overall we’ll take coming out with a pretty reasonable draw this week.”
Warwickshire’s 12-point haul from their latest Rothesay County Championship game sees them consolidate second place in the Division One table at the halfway stage, five points behind leaders and current champions, Nottinghamshire.
The Bears now have a three-week break in the competition before they return for back-to-back fixtures, and will resume their title charge with a trip to Scarborough to take on Yorkshire.
“It’s a pretty ruthless division,” he added. “Glamorgan have come up and showed some real quality and Leicestershire are a real fighting unit. The other sides that have been in this division for a while, we know the threat they all bring.
“There are challenges coming from everywhere, but as cliché as it may be, you can only concentrate on the next challenge and how you’re going to go about it.
“You want to start the season well, and we have. We’re sitting towards the top.
“Come the business end, you want to be in the hunt, and you want to have a chance, so at the moment, so far so good, but there’s a long way to go.”
Warwickshire travel to North Marine Road Ground in Scarborough to face Yorkshire when the Rothesay County Championship returns from Friday 12 June to Monday 15 June.